Religions
The Bright Faith # Church of the Sandgod # Church of the Everlasting Flame # The Lady of Water # Creadaíhmm Religion From an entry of the Book of Beliefs by Bright Father Ealwald Brook. Faith can be both a terrible thing, and a great thing. Our daily lives are continually affected by the beliefs that we hold and that others around us hold. It gives us strength and courage when we need it most, but it can also give us ruthlessness and cruelty. The Bright Faith In Gelduran there are several large religions, myself being a stern believer of the largest one; The Bright Faith. This faith has several gods and demigods that we sternly believe in. This religion was first created by the Elves, after they themselves witnessed the brightness of our creators. Over the years several other races adapted to this faith. Some did so to preserve their nation after a war, others because they witnessed the Brightness themselves. The first to convert to the Bright Faith were the Dwarves, then came the race of Men and lastly came the Gnomes. The Bright Faith is most dominant throughout the aforementioned races, also called the Civil Races. The Bright Faith is made up of hundreds of Bright Priests whom all preach in their own church. Above the Bright Priests are the Radiant Watchers, a group of men and women whom all watch over the Priests and the poor folk. Even above that is a small group of Bright Fathers and a single Bright Mother, who with council of the Bright Fathers, governs the faith. She is in charge of the construction of new churches ( though she needs the permission of whomever owns the land ). The Bright Fathers oversee smaller, less significant things such as money ( donations ) etc. However, I regret to inform you that there are other religions, that are less…. Benevolent than our own. Take for example the Order of the Black Skull. I myself would call them a cult, but sadly they are accepted as a religion. They worship the Agonizing Realms including Dalladin and Berrest the Traitors. They rant continuously about how the Traitor Gods were misled and deceived. I suppose each man may believe what they wish, but why believe in nonsense, I must ask myself? Can they not see the Radiance of our creators? But I am sadly getting off topic. There is also another religion, one which traces its origins to the Dwarven people. The religion is now called the Faith of the Titan. You see, before the Dwarves ever emerged from their mountain cities they had never heard of the Bright Ones and their blinding Brightness, only of the Titan of Land, the scourge that once blocked the chance of our lives. When the Original War of Religion ended the Dwarves were forced to become followers of the Bright Faith, but eventually they too saw the great Brightness that is our creators. Some of these Dwarves, now known as the Blackbeard Dwarves who live on the Isle Tear still believe in the Titan, and how he should be the true revered god. ' ' Church of the Sandgod Now when we turn our gaze to the lands of Var-Azim, you’ll be surprised to learn that they have never heard of our Bright Ones. Instead, they believe in this thing they call a ‘sandgod’. They believe that within the sand there roams a large creature whom they worship. Not a single scholar from Gelduran has actually seen it, but the Azimian people believe it nonetheless. I suppose they’re just foolish. One day they’ll see the light. The Brightness. Now I could go on for much longer about the religions but that would mean me going on for days. People’ll believe anything these days, especially if it gives them hope, or purpose. ' ' Church of the Everlasting Flame The church of the Everlasting Flame…. I guess this is one of those religions that is not as benevolent as the Bright Faith. This religion has had a fierce rise in some parts of the southern Westenwolds. At first it had no more than a handful of devout followers, and it was no more than a gathering, but now the Flame has spread and hundreds if not thousands of people blindly follow it. It's a violent religion, as is proven in the saying that goes; Warm thyself by the warmth of the fire, or burn in it if thy refuses. Not quite friendly now is it? The religion is strictly for Humans, and it scorns and even abuses each and any of the other races. Why it has garnered so many followers in such a short time remains a mystery, but one things is certain; if the religion is allowed to grow any further than it can and will come to harm the other races. The religion thrives off of hate and prejudice, and this in turn increases violence towards the other races. The Bright Faith has been trying to ward off the Everlasting Flame, but to no avail thus far. All we can currently do is sit back and hope it doesn’t spread, like a plague.